Chair Talk
March 2010
On February 12, 2010 SERA Representatives (Alvin Whitfield, Lee Hall, Ray Czaja and I) met with representatives of Civil Service/Employee Benefits (Jan Winters, Susan Kant and Mary Pichini) and representatives of Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Arva Overton and Chris Hollman) to discuss various prescription drug issues that retirees have been experiencing since January 1, 2010. We had been told that the transition from Express Scripts to Blue Cross/Blue Shield would be “seamless” but (depending on the prescription drugs you may take) it has been far from “seamless.” One of the problems that some retirees are having has to do with prior-authorizations and step-therapy. Some of the drugs that are on the Blue Cross list (prior-authorization and step-therapy) are different than those drugs that were on the Express Scripts list. This difference has caused some retirees having their prescriptions changed by a call from Blue Cross/MEDCO to their Doctor. It is our position that there should be no changes in prescriptions that retirees are currently on. We also believe that many of the prescription changes are not done by the Doctor, but are agreed to/changed by the office staff. You may call the customer service at Blue Cross (800-843-4876) for prescription drug issues. If you have had a prescription changed and can t get the issue resolved with Blue Cross customer service please contact your Chapter President/Insurance person. If you wish you can contact me at 810-240-8380 or send me a detailed e-mail at bobkopaszserachair@gmail.com and I will attempt to have your issues resolved. Many of the issues we bring to Civil Service/Employee Benefits or Blue Cross/Blue Shield can be resolved if we/they are aware of them.
I received a notice from Employee Benefits regarding a recent mailing by Blue Cross/Blue Shield:
Certificate of Group Health Plan/Individual Health Coverage
Retirees that were enrolled in the Medicare Advantage plan in 2009 may have recently
received in the mail a Certificate of Group Health Plan/Individual Health Coverage from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan. Please disregard this notice. Effective January 1, 2010, Medicare eligible retirees were automatically enrolled in original Medicare as primary and the State Health Plan PPO as secondary.
If you have any questions about this notice, please call your BCBSM Customer Service Center at 1-800-843-4876.
Alvin Whitfield and I have attended a meeting with the coalition that has been formed in opposition to the Speaker Dillon Public Employee Health Plan (HB 5345). We believe that this plan will cost the state money rather than save money. We also believe that the term “standardization of benefits” actually means a reduction of benefits.
Editor’s note: Bob Kopasz is Chair of the Michigan SERA Council. He may be reached at P.O. Box 692, Mt. Morris, MI 48458; phone 810/240-8380